Rebel Ridge

When Terry Richmond, a former marine, cycles into the town of Shelby Springs to post bail for his cousin, and hopefully buy a truck so the pair can make an honest living, he immediately finds himself detained by two police officers after they ram him off his bike.  He swiftly discovers that the town’s law enforcement community is filled with corruption, all spearheaded by police chief Sandy Burnne.  Simply wanting to get his money back that was seized, post bail and move out of the area, he finds his plans blocked at every juncture by the force, who use legal ways to obstruct him, and as the situation escalates, it soon becomes apparent that he must fight back against the corruption and make a stand, not only for himself, but for the others in the community impacted by the situation, including a courthouse clerk, Summer McBride.

At its core, this is First Blood, with a rather familiar tale of an ex-service man who is just passing through a corrupt town, but where that film (and many others that riffed on the idea) swiftly descend into brutal confrontations, Rebel Ridge plays slightly differently, building the tensions through sharp dialogue exchanges between Terry and Chief Burnne.   Within the dialogue there is almost a justification for the corruption seen, with references to defunding of law enforcements putting the community at risk, and so the corrupt methods of obtaining funding are justified in the eyes of the police force there.  As the matters escalate towards physical confrontation, Terry uses non-lethal combat training to disable those who attack him, taking the defensive approach (which is initially sparked off in an amusing, albeit somewhat contrived, when they finally discover what the acronym MAMAP stands for in his military profile).

Initially John Boyega was cast  to play Terry, but left the project before shooting began, which allowed Aaron Pierre to step into the role, and it feels a great fit for the rising actor who imbues the part with a calm focussed approach.  Don Johnson, as the corrupt police chief, demonstrates total star power with a menacing presence even when simply chewing out pleasantries.  This is the kind of role that he does so well these days, and his appearance certainly gives the familiar tale some extra impact.

This is a film that, in the end, plays out pretty much how you expect it to, as it sticks squarely to formula, but it stands above many similar films in the manner of delivery.  Never sensationalising any moments, the first act in particular is just a slow escalation of tension that grabs you and pulls you in to such a degree that the slightly meandering nature of the second act doesn’t feel like much of an issue before the kick of the final act hits home.

Writer/Director Jeremy Saulnier, who previously gave us the tension of films such as Green Room, uses every trick in the book to deliver another smart and gripping take on a staple action-thriller convention.